UK Version vs American Adaptations

[arrowsong]

This discussion keeps coming up on different threads, so I thought I'd make one for it specifically. If there's another thread about this already I couldnt find it, but feel free to link to it and lock this.

Otherwise, this is continued from a heated discussion that arose on the AR8 thread. To read how it started, click here.

The last post on that topic:

*sighs*

I didnt mean to start all this.

I just think it's utterly absurd because - as someone just said - AR is set in England. The characters are English. That is how they talk; that is the words they use. Americans trying to force their own culture on a book that - character and setting wise - has nothing to do with them is irritating and gives them (americans) an attitude as a society that is not at all flattering.

I know it's not a BIG change, between editions - just 'Mum' to 'Mom' and that - but that's sort of the POINT. Its not that big a difference!! WHY BOTHER?? I mean, how on earth do they do the american editon of Skeleton Key, with Alex having to remember to use american words, when he's been calling it 'math' the whole time anyway??!??!

And the happy-happy-Alex-LOVING CIA agents in SK make me LAUGH!!!!!! "Wow Alex! You blew up the boat!" *ROLLS EYES* It doesnt make any sense that way!

Not to mention the Point Blanc - Point Blank thing. What are they saying, that the subtle pun is beyond americans? Someone said they spell the place name Point Blanc in the book anyway - so what the heck is the point changing the title?

And I know they do show british TV shows in america, but it's very much just that - they have their own channel, they are 'British Shows', not just... TV. Like, here... TV is just... TV. British shows, American shows, Australian shows, the odd NZ show, it's all just, on TV. (And if you knew what they did to Life on Mars, you would not be defending it... they DESTROYED it.. made the whole plot go WHACKED... it's a show about a 21c man who finds himself in the 70s and when they remade it he started there and ended up on a spaceship or something... WHAT THE...?!?!?!?)

And the American Revolution was hundreds of years ago. Maintaining that attitude towards the brits nowadays is a bit pathetic. The World is The World - not America and Some Other Places that either Obey Us or Hate Us And Thus Must Be Crushed By Our Culture.

As for America being the world ruler - MAN that makes me angry - who says they have the right to (to quote AH haha) act as international policemen??

Grr. 

[Pedro-ologist]

1. the americans and the brits were friends in WWII.

2. It is stupid. before you even get into the finer points of why it is stupid you reach the, "hang on a minute. I live in australia, i read 3 types of books. Aussie books, american books and brittish or irish books. When i read an american or english book, they do not go through and change "Hi's" to "G'day's" and they do not go around editing it seperatley for readers in australia (please, if you are australian and know about the laws with forein books etc, dont bring it up now, please). So if i can read books by american authors with the word Mom insead of Mum. am I smarter than an american reader? acording to publishers i am! becuase americans are 'stupid' and they need to read 'English (US)' instead of 'English (UK)' or 'English (AU)'. For heavens sake! Some of the worlds greatest minds are american! do they need to have their books translated to american for them, or do they have brains, do they want to maybe , for once, be treated like they are intelligent humans - which they are?"

3. I shouldn't have brought that up in the AR8 topic...SORRY!

[sandy]

well lucky you pedro now you can rant about it as much as you like
as for my say i dont care what verson i read aslong as it is in english and it is a book i'll read it

[arrowsong]

I'm genuinely curious about how that scene (in SK, with Alex practising his american vocab) works in the american version. My friend found and bought (for a laugh) the american versions of Point Blanc and SK, and we cracked up over the CIA agents and everything, but I dont remember how that scene worked. Can anyone tell me?

[J2Rider]

if you look at my timeline I Make mention of some of the changes. Names are changed. The biggest change though seems to be in SCORPIA with the whole Venice being a school trip vs it being...just ALex and Tom visting his borthr. I'm not sure that's an AMerican change but somtehing HOrowitz changed in a later edition both in the uK

[Pedro-ologist]

I'll go and look in a bookshop, i have one of the oldest scorpia in existance...but that is very interesting

[arrowsong]

Wow, that is a weird change. I didnt know about that!! V. interesting.